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I still have a few 2013 releases to catch up with, and I though I wanted to make my Oscar nominations predictions post having seen all of them, the nods are due early tomorrow morning so I’ll have to post them now.

So far in 2012 there have been a few documentaries that I’ve really, really liked. Seven of the Top 50 films I’ve seen to date this year are documentaries and an eighth one, First Position, is at #52. How to Survive a Plague, the directorial debut from investigative reporter David France, definitely joins that list of great documentaries this year has seen. This film, which premiered at Sundance, is a damn powerful example of filmmaking, a thoroughly moving statement about a truly heroic example of activism on a very serious topic.

Les Misérables is a bit too over-the-top and pompous, but it’s still seriously well-made, with a passion and energy that translates to the performances (with one critical omission) even if it doesn’t always do the same with the vocals. Read my review for it here.

Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s follow-up to The Hurt Locker is an undeniable masterpiece, a film that’s both disturbing and 100% necessary, the most vital film about post-9/11 America. Read my review for it here.